Cory, the Homeless Model
I’m learning to be less judgemental. After all, I don’t want my subconscious to believe I need another painful life lesson.
Life would be critical if I didn’t get another bunch of bananas today. I needed one to take to the YMCA for the night’s work out. I moseyed into Safeway for all the items on my list, paid and walked out.
I noticed a handsome man in his early 20s sitting on the sidewalk holding a sign ‘Hungry and Homeless.’ I grabbed a banana from my bag, walked over and with a pinky fingernail of caution to my name I spoke “Hi, I’m Deborah. Wanna banana?” He gently took the banana from my hand, peeled back the skin and said, “Thank you, Deborah. I’m Cory.”
Curiosity took over and it wasn’t long before I sat next to Cory. I gently asked about his plight and how he became homeless. While married, he and his wife lived at the apartment complex her father owned. Their marriage ended and Cory was told to leave. He explained he couldn’t afford rent anywhere on his own, however, his desperate plea fell on deaf ears. I asked whether he could get a room-mate in another unit and he said he wasn’t from the area. Therefore, he didn’t have anyone he could ask. His difficult lesson proved he relied only on his efforts with his wife, believing they’d be together forever.💔
I asked whether he could save money from where he worked and he let me know he worked for his former father-in-law who let him go. He confessed after so many personal setbacks, he sunk into a deep depression and only had the energy to sit with a sign.
Cory said he didn’t have a place to shower, however, by now it was no longer the first thing on his mind. I complimented him on being a decent looking person who only needed a little touch-up. He smiled and exposed the whitest, straightest, cleanest teeth in a most brilliant smile. My eyes flew open wide and he pulled out a toothbrush from his back pocket. I told Cory his celebrity smile and modelesque appearance would get him through his darkest hour.
I handed Cory a $20.00 dollar bill and said I really didn’t care what he did with the money, although that was a lie. 💲 I suggested he purchase an inexpensive, disposable, plastic razor. I told him to keep his blond hair combed and out of his eyes. I gave him a laundry list of things to keep in the forefront of his mind and to sit up straight when holding his sign.
Cory gave me an education in the hour we sat shoulder-to-shoulder. I told him I wondered since I was a child how people became homeless. Cory needed only one person to believe he was worth being a functioning part of society again. I wanted to be that someone for him.
I told Cory I’d come by next week and better not find him sitting here. I knew he was going to make it. The following week, I slowly drove into the Safeway parking lot fearing I’d see Cory. However, to my astonishment, his spot on the sidewalk was vacant. Although I was disappointed not to have another visit, I was relieved someone believed in him.
A loving mother’s arms once held her newborn Cory. To this day, when I see a person who appears to have no home, I hope they were once tenderly held at their first breath. My views on those fiercely struggling are forever changed thanks to Cory, the homeless model.
